White Noise
by PeacekeeperAngel
Summary: (Alternate Universe created by Madjesters1 on Deviantart, Support the Artist!) Medic has gotten used to a lot of things since joining the latest Incarnation of Team Avatar. Avatar Scout constantly flirting with his protogé Miss Pauling, Soldier's constant bickering with everyone who can talk back. Getting kidnapped however is something hard to get used to!


As he regained consciousness, in the slow hangover-y way near asphyxiation will do to a body, Medic noticed two things of major importance.

One: it was _silent_. No throaty bear-chuckle from Heavy, no bickering between Demo and the insane firebender. Not even the usual laughably pathetic flirtations of "Avatar" Scout in his attempts to woo Miss Pauling.

Even after living the metropolis that was the Northern Water Tribe, Medic was used to living surrounded by sound. Wherever he was waking up now was unnervingly quiet. It took something special to make the master waterbender uneasy.

Two: Medic could smell a very familiar scent. Faint but distinct, coppery, slightly rotten from sitting too long in open air but intoxicating in its familiarity.

Something was bleeding.

Medic could only hope it wasn't _himself_ that was the one bleeding. His luck when it came to avoiding injuries wasn't all sunshine and Dove-moths since hooking up with the latest incarnation of Team Avatar.

He opened his eyes, biting back a groan as the world spun around him. Arms were tied behind his back, yes that was to be expected, what with the whole kidnapping thing. No water around either, but you would have to be an idiot to leave water in sight of an imprisoned waterbender.

No, as far as Medic could tell everything was mostly intact. His head hurt, and he really wanted a drink of water, (or a belt of the rum that Demo seemed to have endless supply of, he wasn't feeling particularly picky at the moment.) and everything ached like blazes, but his body was intact.

Which was more than what could be said for Soldier after Medic was through with him! Honestly they had spent the day lecturing him about not fire bending in the middle of a dry forest and what does the cretin go and do? Start a bloody forest fire trying to rocketpunch another firebender!

_Business before pleasure. _Medic reminded himself; he would deal with Soldier after he had found a way out of...this cave? He could feel rough stone against his back so it was safe to assume he was in a cave of some sort. Perhaps an old earth bender hidey-hole from around the Hundred Year War, Medic wouldn't be surprised. In the Earth Kingdom you couldn't walk two hundred yards from Ba Sing Se without falling down a cave some bender had built back in the day, to protect family and fortune.

While a bender-made hole in the ground meant there was potentially no animals he would have to worry about, most earthbenders tended to make their dens winding underground labyrinths that only the creator could traverse; Or even worse line the holes with booby traps. while Medic doubted his kidnapper could re-prime massive rolling boulders of doom, it wouldn't take a genius to re-cover a pit.

It wouldn't take an idiot to go stumbling into one in the dark either. It was beginning to look like he'd have to wait for a rescue from the others-wait what was he thinking?!

"Ach, zis is not good." Medic grumbled trying very hard not to panic. He was just about to invoke another set of stress-reducing mediation, (usually only saved after a long trying day with Scout, Soldier, Demo, or all three at the same time.) when he heard the sound of footsteps echoing off the rock.

Medic squinted, (alas only now did he realize that his glasses were gone!) at his kidnapper as he...she...they stared back at him through their heavily modified theatre mask. Whatever their true gender was it was impossible to determine through the heavy layers of cloth and leather. It could have just as easily been a kangaroo-rabbit instead of a human underneath all those clothes and he would never be able to tell.

At least it wasn't a spirit, Medic could at least determine that. No spirit in this world or the next had blood, and the sound of the kidnapper's blood running through its body was almost music to his ears.

"Who are you?" Medic demanded, glaring up at the silent fire bender, ignoring that growing _itch_ to make the worm dance under his power. "Vhere are the others? Vhy did you kidnap me?"

"Hmmph!" the firebender said with all the clarity of a gagged sky bison, "Hmm hr-rm hhmph hurrm!"

"Um...?" honestly, what could Medic say in response to _that?_

"Hmmph!" the fire bender growled, rubbing at the eyes of its mask in the same way Medic himself would rub his eyes after a stressful day. "Hmm. Hr-rm hhmmph hurrrm!" they repeated slowly, a little more loudly than before, as if trying to talk to a deaf elder.

_And I thought Soldier was the crazy one. _Medic didn't know whether to burst out laughing or cringe in terror. While Solly was quite obviously two cabbages short of a full cartload, this bender seemed to have forgotten they were wearing a mask, or worse yet they interpreted the mask as their _actual face. _

Either way the point was moot as the firebender grabbed hold of Medic's singed coat with one free hand, pulling him onto his feet. Then hooking its own arm around one of his own the mad fire bender began pulling him blindly down the tunnel.

"Ack! Slow down!" Medic yelped forced to concentrate on keeping himself upright as the firebender, strode down the cave passages with the same gait as an electrified ostrich-horse. "I could keep up if you vould just loosen your grip a little!"

the firebender didn't seem to register Medic's complaints, silently clinging to the taller man as if afraid the water bender would evaporate the second they let go. Medic's arm was beginning to hurt from the masked bender's iron grip.

"At the very least could you tell me vhere ve are going?!"

The masked fire bender stopped dead, Medic nearly running into it in the process.

Letting go of his arm they looked up at him placing a gloved finger over their "mouth"

Common sense told Medic that he should run. Logical thinking said that he should tackle the mad bender into the wall, _then _run.

But two things were silencing his critical thinking skills. One being that the firebender was pointing towards a dim light near the back of the cave with it's torch. Two the scent of blood, which had been constantly with Medic since regaining consciousness was now stronger than ever.

Curiosity was bidding him onward with a fanfare. He could never turn down curiosity.

Medic nodded silently to his kidnapper, who somehow managed to smile with their whole body before continuing to drag him towards the dim light.

The source of that light turned out to be a single battered-looking oil lantern, casting light in a cavern not much bigger than the one Medic had been dumped into. Only instead of a slightly singed water bender with a bad headache and a longing for strong alcohol. This chamber housed an unconscious man, laying in a sickbed made from whatever scraps of soft material that had been scrounged up, with an arrow shaft sticking out of his chest.

_Suddenly things are making much more sense. _Medic concluded as the masked bender dragged him to the injured man's bedside. _Vhy isn't that making me feel better? _

Probably because Medic could recognize a no-win scenario when he saw one. The wounded man was on death's doorstep, the arrow had only opened a path for the infection that was slowly consuming him, the flush of fever the only colour on his exhausted, pallid features.

Despite the amazing things waterbenders could do in order to heal the sick and injured, it would take resources and skills Medic simply _did not have_ in order to save the fire bender's companion. The only waterbender would could possibly save a man so close to death had been dead herself for over fifty years now.

But the firebender apparently didn't care about what skills Medic did or did not have as they cut the ropes binding his wrists together, taking them in their cast iron grip instead.

"Hrp hrrmmm," the masked firebender begged, "prrrm."

It was clear what the bender was asking. They might as well be asking for the Moon and the Tides.

"He's too far gone." Medic said, "I'm sorry there's-"

Wrong answer. Medic felt the heat biting at his gloves before he saw the smoke rising and smelt burning leather.

"_if you're not going to help him," _ The firebender's body language was far more coherent than their usual mumbly nonsense, _"then you don't need your fancy bender's hands now do you?" _

"If there waz another healer he might stand a chance," Medic replied stonily, trying to ignore that the fire bender had gone through his gloves and was beginning to burn his wrists. "Even if I take ze arrow out I can do nothing for ze infection."

It was getting harder to keep his poker face, the burning really hurt. It didn't help that that formidable grip was crushing sensitive bones and tendons as well.

_Bend it. _A voice growled in the back of Medic's head, he couldn't identify it but it felt familiar. _Bend ze upstart, make ze faceless freak dance for you! _It insisted.

The smell, the sight of red-stained rags! It was so tempting...!

_How dare it hurt you! Bloodbend it! _

He had promised her though!

_Bend it! Bend it! Bend it! Bend it! **BEND IT!**_

"DOC!"

a blast of wind ripped the masked bender away, slamming it into the far cave wall, Medic and the injured man barely being disturbed by the breeze.

"How'd you like me now Smokey?!" Scout crowed gleefully, riding in on ball of whirling air, "No so hot when other people sneak up on yah huh?"

Medic would have normally scolded the boy for showboating, but he was a little too busy trying not to whimper like a toddler without a toy. His wrists red and blistered from second degree burns, several of which had been torn open when the masked fire bender had violently lost its grip on him.

"Ohh, jeez." the air bender winced noticing his teacher's wounds as he dismounted, the whirling ball of air dissolving into nothing. "That's not- Ooogh that's gotta hurt."

"Ze current Avatar's bedzide manner ladiez und gentlemen." Medic hissed through clenched teeth. "Give me your canteen."

"Didn't bring it in wit me, didn't want the extra weight." Scout replied nonchalantly, when he noticed the unconscious man. "Hey what's wit da human pincushion?"

"_**HUURRRRRRRRRRARERRRRRRRR!" **_

With a burst of flame and an incomprehensible roar of rage, the masked bender tackled scout sending them both flying into the dark before Medic could reply, leaving him alone with the wounded man who had not stirred during the entire affair.

"Doktor!" Medic couldn't help but smile at the sound of Heavy's throaty roar.

"Over here!" he called out.

Scout was in trouble.

It was quickly obvious to his cocky young mind that training with Soldier hadn't properly educated him on how to fight with a highly skilled firebender.

The first step though was obvious; He had to at least stop this sudden ride on the "Pissed off Firebender Rocket"!

Grabbing fist fulls of the speeding bender's jacket, a quick hard tug send both they and scout rolling in a series of deranged aerial somersaults out into the open air until Scout let go and sent the masked bender flying.

It was the first time in human history that an Airbender managed to feel motion sickness as Scout sprawled out on his back watching the Firebender careen into a bush that had been growing out of one of the canyon's high walls.

"Woo! Eat it Sucker!" he wheezed in giddy delight, trying not to throw up as he stumbled upright. "Y'had enough or are you thirsty for more?"

It was then Scout realized that all firebenders did not fight like Soldier either.

A rain of fireballs, twisting like sky lemurs in flight rained down before exploding all around the hapless Airbender as he twisted and leaped to avoid being barbequed.

"aw come on!" Scout shrieked in dismay when help arrived in the form of several arrows that would have ended the battle then and there if the firebender hadn't managed to vaporize them in a gout of flame.

"Chaaaaaaarge!" Soldier bellowed dashing from the caverns with Sniper close on his heels, loosing shot after shot from his bow with astonishing accuracy.

"Hey I can handle the firebug on my own guys!" Scout squawked in dismay

"Suuuure you can Sport." Sniper retorted dryly never taking his gaze away from the aerial fire battle between Soldier and their mystery opponent.

"That is vhy I was kidnapped by ze firebender." Medic explained the arrow floated out of the man's body in a bloody bubble of water.

"So why're yew healin' th'man when y'said yew couldn't do eet earlier?" Demo asked watching the waterbenders work. Heavy silently remained by the cavern entrance, ready to rush into the battle if Sniper, Scout and Soldier needed assistance.

"Vell zee arrow was tricky, vhat with being so close to his heart." Medic admitted, "vhile I couuuuld have pulled if off eventually, an extra pair of hands allowed me to extract ze shaft without stressing the patient out too badly." miss Pauling smiled quietly as she set aside the arrow.

"Doktor is oddly generous today?" Heavy rumbled from his watch-post.

"I am just satisfying my curiosity." Medic replied crossly, "A dead man can't answer questions now can he?"

"But Medic," Miss Pauling said slowly, "You don't have enough clean water to heal the wound and remove the infection."

"That iz very true my dear." Medic grinned, in his element as a teacher as he snatched Demo's rum bottle from his hand before he could protest. "Zat is why we'll be using," He paused to take a healthy and very badly needed swig from the flask, "Zis!"

"Wait.. what?"

While the masked firebender was easily Solly's superior in firebending it couldn't handle firebending and aerial combat at the same time. Worst was the constant barrage from Sniper and gusts of air from Scout re-directing or even extinguishing its flames before it could roast its obnoxiously loud counterpart.

"You are seriously out of your league Maggot!" Soldier bellowed, "Surrender now and you will be spare a humiliating death by my hands!"

The offer was rejected when the masked bender landed a knee into Solly's side, winding him and cutting off his rocket power with a splutter.

"That's it..." Sniper growled, aiming at his distracted enemy as Soldier was spared a painful and humiliating splattering on the canyon floor by Scout, "You're done."

This time, Sniper's arrow wasn't deflected.

The masked bender yowled incomprehensibly as they crashed into the ground, an arrow buried deep in their left arm.

"You got 'im!" Scout laughed in relief, as he landed with Soldier.

"Good work soldier!" nodded the oblivious firebender, "Now, finish the enemy!"

The trio turned their attention to their former opponent, who simply whimpered, clinging to its wounded arm as it backed away from them in clear alarm.

For some reason shooting the pathetic display in front of him left a bad taste in Sniper's mouth. "Aw hell." he grumbled.

"I got 'im!" Scout cried before throwing a punch that would have taken the firebender's head off...if it hadn't raised it's hands to ward off the blow. No firebending, just hands.

Scout halted. It was one thing to hit a dangerous firebender. This was turning more into beating on a defenceless puppy.

"Errrm...okay den?" Scout murmured lowering his hand. "So does dat mean you surrender?"

"Pyro!"

Scout turned to see Heavy and Medic supporting the wounded man he had noticed before. While the man still looked quite haggard, he had replaced the arrow in his chest with a healthy wrapping of bandages and a set of goggles hanging around his neck. The man was barely able to stand, but it was certainly an improvement over 'almost dead'.

"What th'heck do yuh think yer doin' Pyro?!" the man called out in the same tone of voice that reminded Scout of the Sky Bison keeper scolding his charges back home.

The masked firebender didn't seem to care that they were getting scolded, simply vaulting over Scout before anyone could realize what was happening, dashing to grasp their friend in a relieved and joyous hug.


End file.
